Few artists in the underground have worked Bandcamp better than Amp Fiddler, whose releases on what is probably the only digital shop that doesn’t aggressively fuck artists over are among the best on the service. These are far from remainders, orphaned tracks from lost EPs or digital reissues of things released digitally in the first place. All three records from the Bassmentality series are serious releases and deserve a place in any soul music collection.
The claps & thump of “Nothing Can Keep Me” starts the album out in something of a low-key frenzy. Carried on a soulful note and almost entirely by the power of the human voice, it’s the kind of thing you swear you knew by heart from the day you were born. But the standouts here are two incredible edits by Yam Who? of “Send A Message,” including a 9:30 ultra-’80s Cameo-inspired funk edit. There are six tracks total, and at different times and in different moods over the last week I’ve found each of them on repeat.
Released: July 18 2015 on Bandcamp.
